Monday, September 24, 2012

What I did on my Summer Vacation - Part 1

Now that Labor Day is well behind us and public school has started in NYC, the time seems right for a summer recap.The Stacked-NYC family went West this year to take in some of the country's natural wonders. But no trip would be complete without visiting local libraries
and bookstores, old and new. Here’s a glimpse of what we saw on the road. More to come soon...

Bookman's Corner, at 2959 North Clark Street in Chicago.

No time to shop and explore here, but on-line reviews--and the store's slogan--have convinced me that book lovers might want to schedule a visit if they're headed to the Second City. (A closer look at the right hand corner of the window with the sign might alert potential shoppers to a unique shelving system. While I understand not everyone would find this appealing, I interpret the "arrangement" as a sign that buried treasure may lie within.)

The Chicago Cultural Center (below) used to be the main branch of the Chicago Public Library. It was home to a wonderful children's room on the second floor. I can almost conjure up the distinctive smell of that room--a not unappealing odor of old books, I suppose.

Mosaic detail along the stairwell. The building is full of
beautiful work of this kind.

Quotes about literature and reading adorn the walls.

More pretty detail.

A long view of the rotunda being set up for a meeting and of
Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park beyond.

A second rotunda.

The Cultural Center houses a number of temporary exhibit spaces.
The day I visited, these rooms were mostly empty. In fairness, this
may not reflect lack of interest. The ongoing Taste of Chicago food festival had
drawn thousands of locals and tourists into the park

A lounge near the Randolph Street entrance offers a cool
place to read and study on a hot summer day. I liked the anagrams
on the wall....

A
few blocks south of the Cultural Center, the Chicago Architecture Foundation
has a lovely shop with plenty of books and gifts--heavy on Frank Lloyd Wright and
Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired merchandise.

This is also the location where you
can purchase tickets for one of the CAF’s tours. Highly recommended: the CAF River Cruise.